Indwelling medical devices in contact with the blood may be prone to biofilm colonization which may lead to sepsis increasing hospital stays, reliance on antibiotics and even fatalities. Biofilm formation on indwelling medical devices in contact with blood is well established. Due to the level of exposure of the region, large amounts of water present, and nutrient availability, biofilm formation is common.
The removal of indwelling medical devices in early stage colonization may allow the risk of infection to be greatly reduced. The detection of biofilm on an indwelling medical device may provide notification that the device should be removed or replaced to mitigate the risk of infection. However, current biofilm detection technology may be limited to complex systems.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.